BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Board of International Commerce (LaBIC) released its Comprehensive Development Plan in November, laying out a detailed blueprint for sustaining rapid growth in foreign trade and business investment in Louisiana.
According to Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Louisiana has been ranked number one for per capita foreign direct investment every year since 2008 and this is no accident. It is the result of sustained relationship building and reinvestment. Over ten years ago, in 2013, the Louisiana Board of International Commerce completed its first 10-year roadmap to advance Louisiana's international commerce initiatives and attract international commerce. The second iteration of that master plan, prepared by economist Ed Bee at Taimerica Management Company, now combines objective research about performance and best practices in neighboring states with a vision statement incorporating input from stakeholders throughout Louisiana resulting in several key points.
The first is that Louisiana’s ports are among the state's most valuable economic assets. The Port of South Louisiana, for example, handles nearly sixty percent of the nation’s annual grain exports - over 65 million short tons which are exported to more than ninety countries. Port NOLA generates approximately $100 million in revenue annually through its cargo, rail, industrial real estate and cruise businesses, and handles $500M tons of cargo with each barge carrying the equivalency of seventy trucks.
LaBIC also supports proceeding with developing the proposed Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) container facility to facilitate the expansion of container imports and exports on the Lower Mississippi River. To meet global demand in the movement of cargo, the Port of New Orleans is investing in the $1.8 billion container terminal project.
“Our entire board and our partners at LED take great pride in Louisiana’s successful export growth and in attracting major new capital investments and jobs,” LaBIC Chairman Greg Rusovich said. “We have laid a strong foundation for a generational new container port in Violet and expanded investments in ports throughout our state. We now stand ready to further grow our imports and attract additional major distribution centers. I’m grateful to the Legislature and the many stakeholders who recognize the importance of foreign trade and business development to Louisiana’s economic well-being. Their continued support and commitment to economic progress can make the vision contained in this report a reality.”
According to LED, the report highlights a number of global economic trends that play to Louisiana’s strengths, including the decarbonization of global energy markets, the increasing dominance of U.S. LNG exporters, the growing number of major investments in sustainable processes to meet global demand for low-carbon products, particularly in hydrogen, ammonia and E-fuel production, the surging demand for rare earth minerals processing in support of domestic EV battery supply chains, and the emergence of an offshore wind production industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
LED says Louisiana has strategic advantages in infrastructure and logistics, particularly with the state's extensive port system which is a hub for global and domestic commerce. Louisiana boasts six interstate highways, six Class 1 railroads, six deepwater ports, and seven primary airports, providing a diverse range of options for efficient inbound and outbound logistics.
